In the cable cutting field, there exists a need for a cable cutter which includes a ratchet mechanism for controlling the movement of the jaw members toward and away from each other. There further exists a need for a hand-held ratchet tool wherein the relative movement between the jaw members is inhibited to thereby control the time within which it takes to cut a cable and to limit the handle stroke to the area where the most cutting force is generated.
Conventionally, some cable cutters move their jaw members with respect to each other by a direct linkage mechanism employed between the jaw members and the handles. Other cable cutters employ complex linkage to increase the cutting force, but such designs do not approach the results achieved by ratchet cable cutters. Less complicated cable cutters employ a pair of elongated handles each having a jaw member directly attached to one end. The handles or jaw members are then pivotally connected much like standard pliers. In this case, the cutting force attributable to the cable cutter is directly related to the length of the handle.
Hand-held ratchet tools for cable cutting are known. Such tools have drawbacks which are solved by the present invention. For instance, conventional cable cutting hand-held ratchet tools can only move their jaw members toward each other or towards a closed position. The jaws are moved away from each other by hand or are spring released. The spring-released ratchet tools are problematic in that they are difficult or expensive to manufacture, as well as being a safety hazard since the jaw members are not always totally controlled by the user.
Furthermore, conventional hand-held ratchet tools do not include any mechanism for selectively limiting the relative movement of the handles and, consequently, the jaw members. That is, the handles of these tools have a range of motion from a first position where the handles are closest together with respect to each other to a second position where the handles are the furthest apart from each other. As the handles are moved from the second position to the first position, the cutting force generated at the jaw members varies. More particularly, when the handles are near the second position, the cutting force is less than when the handles are near the first position. Therefore, a need arose wherein the handle stroke could be selectively limited to the area where the most cutting force is generated at the jaw members (i.e., near the first position). On the other hand, it is still needed to have a mode wherein the handle stroke is not limited to allow the jaw members to quickly move from the open to the closed position and vice versa, to thereby save time.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages inherent in the above-described hand-held tools by providing a hand-held ratchet tool for moving a pair of jaw members toward and away from each other. Thus, the relative position of the jaw members is always in complete control of the user. Moreover, the present invention provides means for selectively limiting the relative movement of the handles to an area where the most cutting force is generated and, at the same time, provide a mode wherein the jaw members can quickly move from the closed to the open position and vice versa.